So our house had a little mishap today.  My boyfriend’s 5-year old daughter was playing with the husky, Eli, with a massive rope toy.  She was swinging it around, hitting the coffee table and sofa.  I asked/told her twice to stop and get away from the furniture.  Both times, she moved away from the couch, but after the second time, I walked back into the kitchen and the next thing I heard was a loud crash.  I immediately knew what it was based on the sound.  I walked around the corner and the tree was on the ground.  I immediately knew some of the ornaments had been broken.  See, this year, we used my small 4.5′ fake tree because we were in the process of moving (Scott and I moved in together) and knew we wouldn’t have time for anything else.  On that note, we also only used my ornaments because we knew exactly where they were and wouldn’t have to get anything else from the attic.

I have to admit, I was devastated cleaning up the mess.  My heart was broken as we picked up the tree and all the little pieces of the broken ornaments.  I have LOTS of pug ornaments that I’ve accumulated over the years (thanks mom and Court).  I wanted to cry.  But I realized as we were cleaning up, me and Scott and his two sons, that this mess…this disaster, had brought all of us together to work together to clean up.  Scott and his oldest son helped find pieces of the ornaments and glue them back together.  In all, we actually only lost one ornament that had shattered into several pieces.  The ones we glued back together, while they may have a little part missing from here and there, are still usable.  It actually turned into a fun afternoon putting everything away and figuring out what pieces went to which ornaments.

But in going through this, I realized how much I have grown up (yes, it’s taken me a long time to realize that, LOL).  In the past, I would have been so angry and upset and crying and been very ugly about the whole situation.  In fact, I think Scott was more upset about it because he knew how much my ornaments meant to me (they all have some sentimental value of some sort…I have lots of them with my pugs’ names on them…luckily, none of those broke).  I told him, “It’s fine, sweetheart.  The tree is fine and the ornaments are just things.  She’s not hurt and the dog’s not hurt and nothing is seriously damaged.  It’s okay.”  And I really meant it.

I don’t know why I felt the need to share this with you all, but it’s part of my 2015 resolutions.  I want to focus more on the positives in my life and stop complaining so much.  I have so much to be thankful and grateful for.  I could’ve been angry and upset and made the situation so much worse.  Scott’s daughter was crying and I walked up to her and told her that it upset me that she knocked the tree down, but that I was glad she was okay.  I wiped her eyes and helped her blow her nose and got her something to drink.  I calmed her down and in the end, she came over and helped us put the ornaments away.  And that, all of us, working and laughing together, is what I’m so grateful for.  It made it all worth it.

Bad things happen…mistakes happen.  That’s life.  But it’s how you handle it that really makes you who you are.  Focus on the good things that come out of those mistakes and you will be much happier.  And on the plus side, our Christmas decorations are down and we can get them stored in the attic :) One less project for this weekend.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend and focus on all the positives in your life!  Write down one to two things a day that you are grateful for and you’ll start to see a positive shift in your attitude and your life.

With love and wellness,

Whitney

Did you know it takes 30 days to make or break a habit?  Some of us have bad habits (think biting your fingernails or picking at your face/skin/scabs, etc.) that need to be broken while some of us have good habits we’d like to start.  A couple years ago, I only flossed right before going to the dentist, only because I didn’t want to get chastised for not having done it (and yes, my gums bled and they knew anyways).  So I vowed that I would start flossing and continue even after going to the dentist.  But it never stuck.  I’d do it for a couple days, then I’d get bored and would forget until the next time I went to the dentist.  Until a summer or two ago.  I read this awesome article about how it takes 30 days to make or break a habit.  I decided that I would try it.  I was a little skeptical…I had never stuck with it before.  But I tried it…and sure enough, to this day, I still floss every day.  The trick with doing this, however, is that you should only focus on one habit at a time.  More than that becomes overwhelming.  In reality, you can truly only focus on one thing at at time, so why stress yourself out trying to do more than that.  Besides, you can re-start this process every 30 days!!  And with doing it for 30 days, it gives you enough time to make it something you do without even thinking about it.  It honestly becomes a habit!!

What’s one thing that you’d like to work on over the next 30 days?  I mean, here we are, about to start 2015…let’s start it on a high note.  Do you want to set aside 30 minutes a day for self-care/love?  Do you want to start reading more?  Do you want to add in a daily exercise routine? Do you want to start going to bed earlier?  What about bad habits you want to break?  Do you want to quit smoking?  Do you want to stop biting your nails?  Do you want to stop complaining?

I know one of the big things that I do is complain.  I try not to, but it just creeps back in.  I have to really pay attention to what I’m saying every time I speak because the complaints kind of creep back in slowly but surely.  And the truth is I have an amazing life.  I have absolutely nothing to complain about.  Yes, I have bad moments/days, but that doesn’t mean my life is horrible.  I have a beautiful life full of wonderful people and I don’t want for anything (for the most part).  So my 30 day habit I’d like to break is to stop complaining.  It’s going to take a bit of work, but it’s what I want to focus on.

Let me know yours for the start of another beautiful year!  2015 is going to be amazing…there will be a lot of changes…but I’m so looking forward to it!

With love and wellness,

Whitney